Wrapped Around Her Finger ✓

41. Honour

Paxton

I notice the glow coming out from under the door of Astrid's old bedroom. Maybe she knows where Lina is, she hasn't been responding to my texts or calls for some reason, and no one I asked has seen her since dinner. I knock firmly.

"Come in!" I can barely hear Astrid's muffled voice call. I enter, and furrow my brows at the seemingly empty room. "In here!" I hear her call from her closet. I chuckle softly, I remember Astrid used to love it in that giant closet, she literally would take naps in there as a kid.

I push the curtain aside, it's definitely just as white and pink as I remember it being in here. "I see you've stolen my girlfriend," I chuckle as I walk over to the sofa and sit. "What are you two doing here?"

"Had a...clumsy moment with a server," Lina mumbles. "Astrid was nice enough to let me borrow a dress. Mine is a mess now." I doubt it's a good idea to mention I didn't even notice she had changed dresses until she said that.

"Oh no, we'll get it dry cleaned right away," I reassure her, lightly rubbing her arm. "Now who was the server?" I frown.

Astrid rolls her eyes. "Come on Pax, it was an accident. Plus all the waitstaff here were just hired for tonight, you can't fire anyone."

"I wasn't going to fire anyone," I grumble. I just feel terrible that Lina's new and expensive dress was ruined. I offered to pay, but she insisted she wanted to buy it herself. "What was the name of the catering company again? And their phone number?"

Astrid just laughs and shoves me playfully. "Let's head back downstairs, mom and dad are about to make their speech."

We make our way through the crowded living room. Everyone is starting to gather around, facing my parents, who are standing in front of the giant Christmas tree. It creates a beautiful, glowing backdrop. Ashton, Evan, and Abigail are already standing with them, and Astrid and I quickly take our places. "Took you guys long enough," dad teases.

Lina hesitates a bit, stopping where the crowd ends at the front. Mom notices though, and walks over to her. She takes Lina's hand, and brings her to stand with us. "You're family now Lina," she says softly to her. The sweetest smile spreads across Lina's face.

Dad lightly taps his champagne glass with a spoon and the room quiets down. "Evening everyone, thank you so much for coming." He gives the usual speech, talking about the values of friends and family, and other sweet things. I remember Astrid dreading this part of the night as a kid, she was so shy, and hated being the center of attention. I take a peek at her, on mom's other side. She's smiling, holding a giggling Evan.

Mom takes over, getting to the part I've been looking forward to. "This is our twenty third year hosting our annual Christmas party, and as you all know, we've always asked guests not to bring gifts for our family. Rather, we ask for a small donation to go towards a charity. We received nearly eight thousand this year, thank you so much everyone." There's a round of applause. I still remember the first year my parents did it. They received a couple hundred dollars, and donated it to the local animal shelter. It's gotten bigger and bigger each year, and they ended up donating nearly seven thousand dollars to the local children's hospital last year. "Our family members take turns in deciding where the money will go, and this year was Paxton's turn." She nods to me.

"So this year, my decision was inspired by my wonderful girlfriend Lina, whom I hope most of you have met by now," Lina looks at me and raises an eyebrow. I just smile and put my arm around her, I decided to surprise her. "I decided I wanted the money to be donated to The Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation, in honour of her late father, Greyson Neil, who passed away in the line of duty."